What the AI can and cannot tell you

The interpretation layer in the dashboard does a small, specific set of things. It compares your readings against published thresholds, recognizes patterns it has seen before, cross-references the outdoor feed, and suggests actions when the data supports one. That covers most of what an air-quality tool can usefully do.

It does not do the things people sometimes ask it to. It is not a clinician: it does not diagnose asthma, allergies, or sensitivities, and it does not prescribe treatment. It is not a life-safety system: it cannot detect carbon monoxide, smoke, or natural-gas leaks (see CO vs CO₂). It is not a regulator: its outputs are advisory and not admissible as legal, medical, or workplace evidence without independent verification.

It will tell you when its confidence is low. A pattern that does not match anything in the fingerprint catalog gets labeled an anomaly, not a diagnosis. When the sensor signals could have multiple causes (a humidity step that bumps the VOC index, for example), the interpretation surfaces that ambiguity rather than picking one. When the only available reference value is outside its calibration range, it says so.

It will also tell you about its own limits in plain terms. The sensor has cross-sensitivities. It drifts over years. It reads one point in your home, not the whole house. The outdoor reference is regional, not your block. None of that means the readings are wrong; it means the interpretation is calibrated to that uncertainty, and the AI cites it rather than hiding it.